Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 3,357 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 143,457 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,357 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Broadcom were worth $24,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Broadcom during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Broadcom stock opened at $251.26 on Thursday. Broadcom Inc. has a 1 year low of $128.50 and a 1 year high of $265.43. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.10, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $217.54 and a 200 day moving average of $211.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.01. Broadcom had a net margin of 22.64% and a return on equity of 35.49%. The business had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.96 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Broadcom's payout ratio is 88.39%.

Broadcom declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, April 7th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor manufacturer to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AVGO shares. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $223.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Broadcom from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho upped their price target on Broadcom from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $276.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadcom news, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.35, for a total transaction of $200,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,354,383.70. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 25,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $4,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 465,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,872,080. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 849,134 shares of company stock valued at $163,760,949. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Broadcom Company Profile

Broadcom Inc designs, develops, and supplies various semiconductor devices with a focus on complex digital and mixed signal complementary metal oxide semiconductor based devices and analog III-V based products worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Semiconductor Solutions and Infrastructure Software.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.